RESCUE DAWN

RYAN: Well, that was a different kind of World War II movie.

CAROLINE: That’s funny – most of us would call it a Vietnam War movie.

RYAN: I know; I was just kidding. The movie is “Rescue Dawn,” and it stars one of our favorite actors and Hollywood crushes, Christian Bale.

CAROLINE: He’s a phenomenal actor. And not surprisingly, he’s phenomenal in this role, and he has once again shed massive amounts of weight as he did for “The Machinist.” I’m concerned about his physical being.

RYAN: I must say, this movie is filled with emaciated men.

CAROLINE: It made me wonder if they hired them and made them lose tons of weight ‘cuz no one should be that naturally skinny. Obviously, they must have with Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies. I don’t know about the rest of the POWs, but I could count all their ribs and it was frightening.

RYAN: I’m in shock and awe at what Christian Bale’s character, Dieter Dengler, had to endure in this film. Torture is a bitch.

CAROLINE: Well, as they say, war is hell, and this movie is based on the true story of a fighter pilot whose plane crashed in Laos during the Vietnam War. I can’t imagine how grueling the shoot must have been, not to mention what this Dieter actually went through when he was a POW.

RYAN: He was trapped in the wilds of Laos, where the leaves are the size of your whole body. They used them as blankets.

CAROLINE: Ugh, and the bugs are as big as your head!

RYAN: Christian Bale even had to eat bugs in one scene. All the nature in this movie is so different and scary. One character even comments that the true prison isn’t being held by the captors, it’s the jungle itself.

CAROLINE: The movie is amazingly shot and the locations are gorgeous, even though it’s a hellish prison for them. It’s very green and tropical.

RYAN: I like this director, Werner Herzog, a lot. He directed a documentary a few years ago that we loved called “Grizzly Man.”

CAROLINE: He actually made a documentary ten years ago about Dieter Dengler called “Little Dieter Needs to Fly.” And “Rescue Dawn” is based on that.

RYAN: I must also mention that the music in “Rescue Dawn” is exquisite.

CAROLINE: I totally noticed that! It swells at all the right moments and is really lovely.

RYAN: And I don’t care what you say, but no matter how gaunt and ripped up Christian Bale is in this movie, he’s still super hot.

CAROLINE: He looks a little busted all skinny like that. I prefer him with a little meat on his bones. And of course, his hair is all grown out and nappy. But my God, in those earlier scenes, before he crashes – he is Bale to the nth degree and so freaking hot.

RYAN: This movie also has a few moments of gore, but such is war.

CAROLINE: Steve Zahn is very impressive as Christian’s sidekick POW. I thought he was great.

RYAN: Yeah, he probably gives the performance of his career in this.

CAROLINE: He’s come a long way since “Reality Bites.”

RYAN: Bottom line?

CAROLINE: This is a tremendously well-done movie. It’s horrible and difficult to watch at times, but is a nice alternative to the summer blockbusters if you’re feeling like a serious film.

RYAN: It’ll be interesting to see fifty years from now if they’re making movies like this about soldiers in our current war.

CAROLINE: Thanks for the deep thoughts.

RYAN: Any time.